Purchasing

Inclusive, local sourcing: Purchasing for people and place

Across the country, healthcare institutions are recognizing that they can creatively leverage their supply chains to address the upstream economic and environmental conditions that have the greatest impact on the health of local residents. In doing so, they can create family-supporting local jobs and build community wealth. This toolkit on local and diverse purchasing showcases examples of how hospitals and health systems are reevaluating their roles as their community’s largest purchasers, understanding that a thriving local economy is fundamental to a healthy community.

The sourcing of goods, services, and food that your hospital or health system does every day, when aligned with your mission, can help build local wealth in the communities you serve. By supporting diverse and locally owned vendors and helping to incubate new community enterprises to fill supply chain gaps, hospital and health systems like yours can leverage existing resources to drive local economic growth and build a culture of health in their communities. This toolkit can help you get started.

Case Studies

In Cleveland, Ohio, University Hospitals is harnessing its purchasing power to revitalize disinvested urban neighborhoods, encouraging existing vendors to move locally and hire local and minority residents and helping incubate environmentally sustainable,...

In Dallas, Texas, Parkland Health and Hospital System is integrating supplier diversity into their Request for Proposals and contracting processes and working to build the capacity of local, diverse businesses.

In Charleston, West Virginia, Charleston Area Medical Center is addressing community health needs by purchasing from local farmers and intentionally growing the capacity of the regional food system, creating local jobs and healthier food options for its...

Key Strategies

Adjusting internal practices to facilitate connections with local vendors not only shifts procurement dollars in a way that fosters local employment, which in turn promotes community health, but it also grows these businesses over time, allowing for a more responsive and resilient supply chain. Learn more about strategies to create connections

If you are interested in print copies of these toolkits, or would like to know more about how The Democracy Collaborative can support their use at your institution, please contact kparker@democracycollaborative.org.